A lawyer charged with helping his wife plunder money from the campaign chest of a Virginia state senator and two other organizations cannot shield his two homes from possible forfeiture, a federal appeals court ruled last month. The 4th U.S. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals News Judge Allyson K. Duncan Judge T.S. Ellis III

The defendant’s attack on a prior removal order failed because he waived his right to challenge that order, failed to show he suffered prejudice from the alleged defects in the proceedings and the order complied with the regulations. Background On ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The defendant, who defaulted, unlawfully hacked and gained unauthorized access to plaintiff’s GoDaddy.com account in order to transfer the domain names to himself and profit from the marks. The court adopted the magistrate judge’s report entering judgment for the plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A plaintiff who prevailed on summary judgment on a Lanham Act claim over use of a common phrase, “We Buy Homes,” is not entitled to attorney’s fees because the case was not rare, extraordinary or unique. Background On June 28, ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The government failed to prove the defendant was in the Eastern District of Virginia when he actually transmitted National Defense Information to his Chinese contact. Background Following a four-day trial, a jury convicted defendant of: (1) conspiracy to gather or ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although “We buy houses” is a registered trademark, it is now widely used to describe services provided rather than a source of services, which makes it generic, not distinctive. Background Plaintiff Express Homebuyers has been in the house-buying industry since ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

While a management company mailed delinquency notices for a homeowners’ association, its debt-collection activity was incidental to its obligations, and is thus exempted as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Background Plaintiff Robert Yergovich owns and ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An Alexandria federal judge has awarded $1.53 million in attorney’s fees and costs to a consumer electronics manufacturer based on findings that trademark infringement claims and litigation conduct against the company were “objectively unreasonable.” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ...

Tagged with: Judge T.S. Ellis III

A mobile home park may have violated the Fair Housing Act by requiring residents to provide proof of their legal residency in the United States, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Four Latino families allege that the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Judge T.S. Ellis III

Panel interviews of four candidates – even split by gender – to fill a U.S. Marshals Service leadership position provided no basis to find that the proffered reasons for selecting a male candidate were a pretext for gender discrimination. Background ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District